Redesigned Range Rover revealed

Land Rover has revealed a sleeker, longer, lower and significantly lighter new Range Rover ahead of its official world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on September 27, and its Australian debut at the Sydney Motor Show on October 18.

Full technical details will not be released until early next month when sales will commence following the announcement of pricing.

The UK will be the first of more than 160 markets globally to take delivery from January next year.

The fourth-generation Rangie’s most revolutionary feature will be a new all-aluminium chassis which, Land Rover claims, will reduce kerb weight by up to 420kg.

The company says the new Range Rover will be the world’s first SUV based on an alloy monocoque body structure.

Based on a clean-sheet design using techniques developed for sister company Jaguar’s aluminium-bodied XK and XJ models, the Rangie’s new bodyshell is 39 per cent lighter than the steel structure it replaces, with greater torsional and bending rigidity, Land Rover claims.

The substantial weight-saving will bring major benefits to fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, performance and handling, but Land Rover claims this will also be the strongest and most refined Range Rover ever.

The company is billing the new Rangie as the world’s most refined and capable luxury SUV, saying it will offer “an unrivalled breadth of capability with transformed handling and agility” and “a truly composed driving experience”.

Despite looking unmistakably like a Range Rover, the new body blends such long-established design cues as the clamshell bonnet,‘floating’ roof on blacked-out pillars, and two-piece tailgate, with fresher styling borrowed from the smaller Evoque. The latter includes headlights and tail-lights that wrap around the body and heavily raked grille.

“Designing the next-generation Range Rover, following over 40 years of success, came with a huge responsibility to protect the DNA of such an icon,” said Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Design Director and Chief Creative Officer.

“Our design team worked incredibly hard to capture the elegant proportions and pure surfaces which have been a feature of the best Range Rover designs,” Mr McGovern said.

Despite its dramatic new look, it is the under the Range Rover’s skin where the most significant changes have taken place. New aluminium front and rear subframes support redesigned independent air suspension systems, with Land Rover promising state-of-the-art adaptive dynamics that  “further improve peerless ride quality”.
The Rangie’s legendary off—road ability will be further enhanced by a new-generation Terrain Response 2 Auto system.

A wheelbase stretch of about 100mm has created a more spacious interior, liberating 118mm more rear legroom, while a new two-seat Executive Class seating package offers even greater rear-seat comfort.

As befits its premium price and positioning, the new interior boasts lashings of the finest-quality leather and wood, as well as acoustic lamination of the windscreen and side glass to reduce noise levels.

Three engines will be available from launch, all driving through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. The sole petrol engine will be a unique version of Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) supercharged 5.0-litre V8, while two diesel choices will include a special version of the 3.0-litre TDV6 seen in the Discovery and an upgraded version of the 4.4-litre SDV8 in the current Range Rover.

“The new Range Rover preserves the essential, unique character of the vehicle – that special blend of luxury, performance and unmatched all-terrain capability,” said Land Rover Global Brand Director, John Edwards.

“However, its clean-sheet design and revolutionary lightweight construction have enabled us to transform the experience for luxury vehicle customers, with a step change in comfort, refinement and handling.”

At this stage it’s unclear whether Australian pricing will go up or down compared to the current model, which opens at $158,100 for the 5.0 V8 and closes at $318,000 for the 5.0 V8 Ultimate.

The new Range Rover is currently in the final stage of an 18-month development program that covered cold- and hot-weather durability testing over millions of kilometres in more than 20 countries.

It will enter production within weeks at JLR’s new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Solihull.

Meantime, JLR today also announced that its 4500-strong workforce at its Halewood plant will for the first time ever work three shifts and around the clock over to meet global demand for the Range Rover Evoque.

The Evoque has attracted nearly 88,000 sales in more than 170 markets since its launch in July 2011, establishing itself as Australia’s top-selling luxury SUV.

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